Galena Park police chase ends with young man dead, driver still missing

A Galena Park police officer was patrolling Clinton Drive for speeders early Saturday when he tried to stop a speeding car. The car took off, leading him on a chase that ended with the car crashed and a young man dead inside. The person who had been driving ran from the scene and has not been found.

The pursuit began around 3 a.m. in the 7700 block of Clinton Drive, according to Galena Park police. An officer working traffic enforcement spotted a gray Infiniti moving well over the speed limit and tried to pull it over. Instead of stopping, the driver hit the gas.

The chase moved down Clinton Drive toward the 7400 block, where police say the Infiniti lost control. The officer briefly lost sight of the car. He kept driving down the roadway, came across signs of a crash, and found the Infiniti stopped near the 7200 block of Clinton Drive.

Inside, officers found a young Hispanic man dead in the passenger seat. Investigators say evidence collected at the scene indicates he was not the one behind the wheel when the car crashed. Police believe whoever was driving got out and ran, and that person has not been located.

Galena Park police said they have developed some leads in the hours since and are relying in part on Flock camera technology, a network of license-plate-reading cameras used increasingly by police departments across the Houston area, to help identify who fled. The investigation was still active as of Saturday morning, and the identity of the man found dead had not been released.

Clinton Drive runs through Galena Park along the Houston Ship Channel and carries truck traffic past warehouses and rail yards even overnight. Galena Park, a city of roughly 10,000 people east of downtown Houston, is patrolled by its own police department, separate from the Houston Police Department, though the two agencies often work adjoining cases given how closely the cities border each other.

Police have not released the extent of the crash damage beyond confirming the Infiniti came to a stop after losing control, nor have they said whether the man who died suffered injuries consistent with the crash itself or something else. The department is asking anyone with information about the case, the identity of the driver who ran, or the identity of the man found dead to call police at 713-247-4072.

No arrests had been announced as of Saturday morning. Galena Park police said the investigation is ongoing.